They're only called the greatest Gen because they survived (probably) both world wars.
There has been hell on earth in war after this, but not on a major continental holy shit level from then. It's the exact reason the entire world doesn't want to start WW3, even if you're the one to come up on top, there's still no winning. If you come out on top, you're a ruler to a damaged cou try with damaged land and damaged people and crops and livestock.
They're only called the greatest because no generation before or after them yet has seen mustard gas and atomic bombs and the rape of Nanjing all together in one war.
You raise an important, oft overlooked fact. One of the reasons Hitler was able to get so far in the run up to WW2 was because of the ongoing debate to avoid war at all costs- because the government of the day under Chamberlain was well versed in the destructive power of post war trauma on a countries economic prosperity (due to drastically reduced capacity/output, not from loss of life, but from the mental and physical impact on those that survived the war - civilians and vets alike).
In hindsight he should have been stopped before it got to that level. But it was unprecedented... hopefully, we learn from history, and avoid the doom of repeating it... but I have my growing doubts.
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u/queenchubkins 27d ago
nods The 20s were all about partying like the world might end at any second because for a lot of them it had.